[Pathfinder76]

Here is my take on the subject and then you can spit all vile comments about me that you wish.

I have put thousands upon thousands of rounds down dozens and dozens of different barrels in a multitude of different chamberings. My conclusions indicate that there are no magic barrels, there are no magic cartridges, and there are no magic formulas. Loading manuals are not Lawyer proof, better brass does not mean you are experiencing less pressure, and within reason most things reloading wise are pretty predictable.

In my opinion, and I share it with others, there is a direct correlation between velocity and pressure. Just because X barrel gets X velocity with X powder charge and y barrel gets 100 fps more velocity with that same X powder charge it doesn’t make y barrel a “fast” barrel. All it means is that there is something dimensionally or in the material/makeup that is causing y barrel to generate more pressure and velocity with less fire. If this were not so then there would be ZERO need for minimum and maximums in loading manuals. I will even go out on a limb and make predictions, before any rounds are fired, between two different brands of barrels as to which one will produce more velocity with a given charge.

Reading pressure from brass, primers, extraction, etc. is so fraught with error as to be almost completely unreliable. Primer pockets can open up and be a sign of excess pressure, but we have many that use “hard” brass so they don’t see it (knowingly) and if that is the case who is to say “soft” brass can’t exhibit the same but opposite issues. Case head expansion has the exact same problem. Primers can flatten because of excessive headspace, stay round because of construction, crater because of sloppy firing pin holes, and pierce because of construction and poorly manufactured firing pins. Extraction can be hard with poor lug contact or eccentric chambers, and concentric chambers and square lugs allow for ease of extraction way past safe pressure. Brass flow can be misread because of burs on ejector holes and the list goes on. When you see pressure signs that you KNOW are pressure signs it is WAY past anything reasonable.

So when someone is getting 175 fps faster than what the loading manual states they should, and the above example is just that (comparing apples to apples). You cannot pat yourself on the back and say you got yourself a fast barrel son! You should say “Yikes” and go back to the drawing board.